The present invention relates to amusement rides.
Amusement rides, and specifically roller coasters, are very popular at theme and amusement parks around the world. Many amusement rides today have a "theme" which may be related to a motion picture, comic book character, mythical figure, cartoon, etc. A typical roller coaster consists of a number of ride vehicles that are attached to one another and ride along an elevated track. The track usually includes a number of hills, rolls, loops, spirals, inversions, drops and the like. Since most roller coasters are purchased "off the shelf" from a ride vendor, the ride vehicles are mostly standard open-air vehicles with a number of passenger seating positions and safety restraints. The amount of theming applied to roller coasters tends to be minimal, usually limited to the color of the vehicles, the color of the track and some themed elements along the queue line. With a standard, open-air roller coaster vehicle, it is nearly impossible to fully integrate the ride vehicle into the theme of the ride. In addition, when passengers are loading into the ride vehicles, they can generally see other passengers loading into other ride vehicles and they can also see the other ride vehicles during the ride. This detracts from the theme of the ride and diminishes some of the fantasy for the passengers.
Therefore, there is a need for a roller coaster with improved ride vehicles.